


Friends?

by TheMirkyKing



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Barduil - Freeform, M/M, Swearing, Teasing, hopefully sassy bantering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 01:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19141075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMirkyKing/pseuds/TheMirkyKing
Summary: Bard and Thranduil seem to be on the verge of friendship.





	Friends?

**Author's Note:**

> It has been forever since I have visited my first foray into writing Barduil and these two! I have NOT forget them, just being lazy! Well if anyone remembers here is another chapter, hope you enjoy!

Thranduil sighed as he saw the familiar green truck parked in his spot. “Of course,” he muttered, “why am I even surprised?” 

Thranduil scanned the street for parking and ended up parking on a hill, four blocks away. As he walked past the window he saw an unruly haired man at the counter. Thranduil credited the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach to his fight this morning with his son Legolas, not that man. 

Thranduil’s morning had not started out well. He had woken to find Rúmil’s side of the bed un-slept in, again. Rúmil had texted him that he was working late and not to stay up. No doubt he had stayed at his apartment, the fact that he still had one, annoyed Thranduil. Rúmil claimed it was easier to keep it as he often worked late and didn’t want to disturb them. Thranduil sighed and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. The last year had been tense between them. Rúmil had said that making partner at the law firm would be good for them. He would be able to be there more. Instead it seemed he was around less and less, and when he was there it seemed that they argued non-stop. Thranduil wonder if Rúmil still loved him. And he was beginning to question his own feelings about their relationship. 

Loud music suddenly filled the house. Legolas! Thranduil closed his eyes and sighed again. How was it possible that his son could listen to music that loud? Oh well, each too their own. He glanced at the clock. 7am! Gods! That boy would be the death of him. He pulled on his pajama bottoms and grabbed his robe, might as well get a start, there would be no sleeping in with that racket. Passing his sons room he stopped and pounded on the door to tell him to lower the music as he headed downstairs to get some coffee. He was greeted by muddy foot prints and puddles of water trailed all over the kitchen floor along with muddy shoes and clothes discarded at the entrance to the laundry room. 

He went to the base of the stairs and yelled up it, “Legolas!” He glanced up waiting for his infuriating son to appear. “LEGOLAS!” he bellowed, this got his son out of his room. 

“What?” He sullenly asked, “I’m online with Aragorn and Gimli!”

Thranduil gritted his teeth. “I DO NOT CARE! Get your butt down here, NOW!” Legolas rolled his eyes and dragged himself down the stairs to stand before his father. 

“What?” he said again, delivered in a sulky tone that only a 15 year old could. Thranduil sighed and pushed him into the kitchen.

“That’s _what _young man!” He stated pointing at the mess that Legolas had left. It was beyond Thranduil that his teen was actually an early riser but he was a runner too. If given an opportunity, Thranduil would sleep as long as he could and exercise? He enjoyed the infrequent hikes that they took but between his work and Legolas’s school, they didn’t do it that very often.__

Legolas shrugged his shoulders and said “Yeah, so?” 

“So clean it up!” Thranduil snapped at him.

Legolas rolled his eyes, Thranduil pushed down his annoyance. “WHY do I have to?” Legolas whined, “Connie will be here soon and it’s her job after all!”

Thranduil clenched his hands, he hadn’t spanked his son in years but he was sorely tempted to do so now. When had his son become such a spoiled brat? And the attitude! If he was honest with himself, Legolas got that trait for him but that didn’t mean he had to appreciate it when it was directed back at him. Somewhere his father was laughing in unmitigated joy. That annoyed Thranduil even more.

"Connie’s job is to keep the house, not clean up after you.” He said sternly. “So get to it!”

Legolas made a face and muttered, “She pickups after you all the time!” That did it. Thranduil rounded on his son in anger.

“I pay her and when you start paying her, then that will be another conversation!” He took in a deep breath to calm himself. Legolas knew how to push his buttons. “Until that time, I want this kitchen clean before she gets here, do you understand?”

"I was going to meet Aragorn and Gimli!” Legolas protested.

“I don’t think so. You are grounded for the day.” Legolas gave a sound of outrage.

“That’s not fair!” Legolas shouted at him. Thranduil shook his head at his overly dramatic son, again a trait that he had picked up from him. It was probably too late to curb his own behavior but he really did need to watch himself around Legolas. Especially now with he and Rumil were out of sorts.

“Not only are you to clean this up but also that rat’s nest that you call a room. I also expect you to finish your homework and …”

“You have got to be kidding! It’s Saturday!” Legolas yelled, waves of put-upon teen pouring off him.

“I assure you I am not.” Thranduil moved away from Legolas and gestured to the mess. “You better get to cleaning. I don’t want Connie to come into this.”

He could hear his son muttering something but Legolas was smart enough not say it too loud, knowing his father’s excellent hearing. Thranduil ran a hand thru his hair, trying to let go of his annoyance. Had he been this bad when he was 15? Thranduil glanced at his son, who was mopping up the mud and water in an overly aggressively manner and knew the answer. He and his father’s relationship could be called cordial at best, but there was more than his own bratty ways as a teen to explain that.

He sighed and went upstairs to get ready for work. When he came down the kitchen was clean. Well, as clean as an angry teenager could. Connie was already there and smiled at Thranduil and the loud music blaring from his son’s room.

“Rough morning?” she inquired, laughing at Thranduil’s sour expression. He smiled and grabbed some coffee for the road and picked up the mug of another annoying man. He slipped it into his satchel and waved at her. He stopped at the stairs and yelled up to his son.

“LOVE YOU LITTLE LEAF!” No matter what happened between them Thranduil always told Legolas that he loved him. He had no doubt that his son was giving him the finger. Ah, the joys of parenthood!

Thranduil wasn’t aware of the small smile that grew as he watched Bard gesturing towards the table that they had been sitting at yesterday. Thranduil slipped into the café and when Sara glanced at him he shook his head and put a finger to his lips. He silently slid up behind Bard. Sara eyes returned to Bard.

“I’m sorry sir, but no mug was turned in.” She said. Bard’s shoulders sag. The mug had been a gift from Bain for Father’s Day. Bain had taken a lot of pride in designing the logo and having it put on the mug.

"I had to have left it here.” He said in dismay. Bard had searched his truck, the job site and home. He realized that it had to be here as he had left in a bit of a rush. Bard was surprised that it wasn’t here. Surely Thranduil was have picked it up and left it for him? True, he had only recently been coming in but he had thought there had been a connection between them. Thranduil was a bit of a toffee nose yet Bard had been rather surprised by the man. He was disappointed that his mug wasn’t here and more than a little about Thranduil not noticing.

Thranduil pulled out Bard’s mug and leaned in close to almost whisper in his ear, “You mean this mug?” He reached around him to put it on the counter. Bard practically jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t even noticed him come in let alone how close he had gotten to him! That was forgotten when he saw his mug.

“Hey!” He exclaimed happily, grabbing it and turning towards Thranduil, a huge smile split his face. Thranduil’s smile matched Bard’s. Bard smile became a disappointed frown when he looked at his mug. Thranduil stepped back from him, an amused smile playing on his lips.

“What happened to it?” He demanded. “It’s clean!” He said sadly. Bard was woefully lax when it came to cleaning it. It was his go to mug, that meant it took all the abuse that he could throw at it. It was his work cup, one that he always used.

Thranduil snorted and rolled his eyes. Bard was so adorable. Wait, what? Thranduil shook his head, this wouldn’t do. But he couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Yes, it is.” He replied drily. “You really should clean it more than once a decade!”

Bard made a face, “It was perfectly seasoned!” He complained.

“Honestly Bowman, there was another life form practically growing in it!” Thranduil said dramatically, “I was afraid that I was going to get bit when I cleaned it!” Sara laughed with him at Bard’s expression.

“He’s right,’ she said in sympathy with her boss. “Your mug was GROSS!” Bard shot her a sour look and handed her the mug to fill. Bard gave Thranduil an appraising look.

“So….” He demanded. “Why did you take it then?”

“I didn’t, you left it when you ran out yesterday.”

“I didn’t run! I had to get to the job site!” He protested.

“You ran like the hounds of hell where after you!” Thranduil laughed. Bard gave a bemused look at Sara. “Well…..” Bard drawled, raising his eyebrow at Sara.

“Oh please, ask anyone!” Thranduil exclaimed. “I’m an angel!” He batted his eyes at Sara and Bard as he rounded the counter to go to his office.

Sara regarded her boss with amazement as he passed her. She and Bard exchanged a look. Sara handed him his coffee.

“Satan was an angel you know!” Bard whispered loudly as he took his coffee. Sara snorted.

Thranduil poked his head out from the back office and winking at him, and in a seductive voice said, “I never said that my wings weren’t a bit sooty!” Bard laughed as Thranduil popped back into his office. Sara gave Bard a knowing smile, both shaking their heads in amusement.

Bard took his coffee and looked for a spot to sit. It was a busy day at the coffee house. Bard had to settle for a seat at the long table that faced the window. Bard didn’t like sitting on bar stools but he wasn’t ready to leave. He was kind of hoping that Thranduil would come and join him but he didn’t. Bard pulled out his phone and searched for a game to play online. He was totally engrossed in lining up tiles to break when Thranduil’s deep voice once again startled him, causing him to jump.

“How very productive, Bowman!” Thranduil mocked, peering over Bard’s shoulder at what he was doing.

“Jesus Christ!” Bard yelped. That was twice this man had snuck up on him. How could such a tall man move so silently, Bard wondered? Thranduil smirked at Bard.

“I thought we had already established my true identity.” He sniffed.

“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not nearly that scary!” Bard scoffed. “You’re more imp like!”

“Please, I’m much too tall to be an imp!” Thranduil protested. Bard grinned at him and huffed when he saw that the time had run out on his game. Thranduil sat down next to him and leaned over to look at the game he had been playing.

Bard grinned sheepishly and shrugged, “It’s just something to pass the time. It’s fun! You do know what that word means, right?” He taunted. Thranduil raised a dark brow at him.

“I fail to see how matching squares or whatever, could be of any entertainment.”

“Oh, it’s more than just matching!” Bard exclaimed. “You have to make match’s to get thru the maze and at the end, there is a puzzle that you have to ensemble before you can move to the next level and then there’s….” He trailed off under Thranduil’s gaze. 

“You do realize that you’re an adult.” Thranduil said in a patronizing tone.

Bard gestured with the phone awkwardly, “It’s still fun!” He muttered. Thranduil snorted at him.

“I think we have some coloring books and crayons around here.” He teased. “I could find them for you, if you like?”

“No!” Bard huffed and took a sip from his coffee. Thranduil bit his cheek to keep from laughing. He could see the slight blush on Bard’s face. God’s the man really was too much. He was pretty sure that Bard would happily color if given the chance. How charming.

“Don’t you ever take a day off?” Bard demanded in irritation. He was feeling a bit caught out. Just last night Tilda and he had been coloring, though she had informed him that the mermaid’s tail should have been blue, not the purple and pink he had colored it. Tilda was quite the art critic. Why did he feel like Thranduil had known this? He shook his head, pure whimsy on his part.

Thranduil smiled knowingly. “I like to visit all my investments.” He responded.

“How much coffee can one person drink?” Bard queried.

“This is my only coffee house,” Thranduil said dryly. “My other establishments are the Mirkwood Distillery in Fremont and Greenwood Cellars in Woodinville.”

Bard gave a low whistle and made gestured of pricey with his fingers. He was familiar with both and they were way too dear for him. They were also very well respected and popular. Bard liked the vodka from Mirkwood, when he could afford it. They specialized in flavored vodka’s, unique flavors at that. He liked their Chipotle or bacon vodka; they made great Bloody Mary.

“I guess that makes sense.” Bard began. Thranduil gave him a puzzled look. “The demon liquor…”

Thranduil laughed. Bard grinned. He was really enjoying teasing Thranduil. He was about to cheek him some more when his stomach gave rather loud growl. Bard glanced at his phone, 11:30am. A little early but he had skipped breakfast. He decided that he would take a chance.

“So you want to grab some lunch?” He suggested. Thranduil’s smile faltered. Bard quickly added, “I’m mean if you have time.”

This was it. This would be where Thranduil would say he wasn’t interested in him or married. Maybe Bard had misread the signals. Thranduil frowned and cleared his throat.

“Bard,” He began tentatively, “I may have given you the wrong impression yesterday.” Bard opened his mouth to refute, but Thranduil went on. “It was highly inappropriate. I should not have touched you.”

“It’s okay, I realize that my bulging forearms are hard to resist.” Bard joked. Thranduil gave a small laugh and shook his head.

“No, that’s not it.” Thranduil paused and gave Bard a small smile. “You see, I have a boyfriend."

Bard wanted to drop into a huge hole. _Fuck Me!_ Bard thought. Well at least he had been partially right, like that helped. Thranduil stared at him; lips pressed together waiting for Bard’s reaction.

“Well… great for you!” Bard exclaimed. _What the hell?_ “So do you still want to grab something or not?” Bard could hardly believe he had said that. Thranduil eyes widened in disbelief, he had not expected the offer for lunch to still stand.

“Um, are you sure?” Thranduil was really surprised; he must have mistaken Bard’s intent.

“Yeah, I hate eating alone.” Bard grinned. Thranduil smiled tentatively at him. He was conflicted, enjoying their verbal jousting, but he had been afraid that Bard was looking for more.

“Well, okay.” Thranduil replied. “I hate to eat alone too.” Bard smiled. “Let me grab my things, I’ll be right back.” Bard nodded lamely. Thranduil got up and hurried to his office.

Bard wanted to pound his head into the table. What the hell was he doing? He should have known that a man like Thranduil would be with someone. And why did he still extend the lunch offer? Bard knew why actually. In fact he was rather pleased with himself; normally he would have blundered his way out of it and in the end looking like an ass. At least he had made the offer in a light manner. God, what if he had actually asked to buy him lunch? There was no way to play that off.

Bard stood up and pulled on his jacket and scarf as Thranduil bounded up to him, a large smile on his face, blue eyes shining with delight. This was why Bard hadn’t taken the out Thranduil had given him. Bard had seen the look on Thranduil’s face when he had asked. Bard got the impression that maybe Thranduil didn’t actually have many friends. Bard would have preferred the other alternative, but he still would get to spend time with him. Thranduil was quite fun to spar with and let’s face it, not hard on the eyes.

They exited the coffee house. Bard turned to Thranduil “So what’s good around here?”

Thranduil grinned. “The Indian restaurant is really good and they have a buffet.” Bard gave Thranduil a shocked look.

“Really?”

“Yeah, all you can eat too!” Thranduil enthused. Bard laughed, once again Thranduil surprised him. Bard wondered how many more surprises there could be with Thranduil as a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments always welcomed!


End file.
